To Be Grateful...

Every night before we go to bed, Little Lewie and I say something we are grateful for...

Sometimes it's for God and for the gift of life itself; sometimes it's for good health; sometimes it's for friends and family; sometimes it's for independence and education; and sometimes it's for just the random things we take for granted everyday...food, shelter, clothing, and all the little and big things that make us happy.   At one time I was going to start writing down all of our nighttime answers, but admittedly, I didn't start.  I imagine if I did, the list could fill a book.

I woke up this morning with a to-do list in my head--pay these bills, start a load of laundry, answer a few work emails, vacuum the house, etc.  I realize now that these to-do lists that I wake up to each and every morning clouds my head space.  Instead of waking up feeling grateful and satisfied, I wake up to a void... I have this, and this, and this to do... Until the list gets done, I don't allow myself to feel happy, and if the list rolls into the next day, then I increasingly feel frustrated and burdened.

I'm not sure how to end the cycle.  After all, if I don't follow my "to-do list" for today, we won't have a Thanksgiving dinner...or we'll have some agitated family members that will be unhappy that I didn't do my part.  Maybe, Little Lewie and I need to begin our days in the same way that we end them..."Dear God, I am thankful for..."

Today, my morning gratitude reflection is this...

"Dear God, Today I am grateful for being able to celebrate another wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family.  I am grateful that we all have our health, and although there has been some scares with family members in recent years, they are still here with us to enjoy and celebrate the day.  I am thankful for the yummy food we will be eating today, our warm and cozy house, and the fun board games we'll be playing afterwards.  Even more, I'm grateful that we all have today off to be with each other and not have to think about school or work.  We have time to laugh, to love, to inquire, to celebrate, and to be ourselves.  We have time to relax and be joyful (and maybe even have a glass of wine or slice of chocolate cream pie)."

I still have my "to-do list," but somehow it feels less important.  In a time where, lately, it feels like we're surrounded by feelings of scarcity and lack, I'm so glad we have a holiday that reminds us of our abundance.  Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and a happy day of gratitude!

This year our Cub Scout Pack helped out at a soup kitchen.  It felt good to be able to help sort food in the pantry and to be able to serve a yummy and nourishing meal.

Halloween 2019 - Elves, Leprechauns, and Fairies?

We've come a long way (11 years of Halloweens to be exact).  I won't bore you with a rundown of every Halloween, but let's say, so far, we've had three phases: 1) the cartoon character phase, 2) the train phase, and 3) the video game character phase.

I'll admit I enjoyed the first two phases.  For the most part, everyone knew who we were.  However, when we started dressing up like video game characters (Plants v. Zombies, Splatoon, Undertale, etc.) no-one knew who were were--I mean NOBODY.  It wasn't fun.  There was no, "Look how cute you are," or "Wow, what great costumes!"

This year I put my foot down.  "We have to be something different," I told Lewie.  He was already gearing up for a second year of Undertale.  We spent weeks thinking about it, and then one day, it clicked.  "Let's be other holidays for Halloween," Lewie said.  "Like let's dress up and say, 'Merry Christmas.'"

"Right.  I can be a Christmas Elf," I said.  "You should be a different holiday...like St. Patrick's Day.  Yeah, that's it.  You'd make a great Leprechaun, Lewie!"

Lewie liked the idea.  Daddy wanted to be an old lady in a mumu, but that didn't quite go with our theme.  We explored some ideas on the internet, and suddenly, we found it:  "Look at this, Lewie.  Daddy can be the tooth fairy!"  The costume was perfect--the tooth fairy could be an old lady, and he could swap a tutu for the mumu.

A picture of Little Lewie, me, Big Lewie, and my mom  (My mom was a scarecrow.)

Following our tradition, we went to my mom's place of work first, so the ladies in the office could see all of our costumes.  Since they are a festive bunch, they were dressed in their own costumes and had candy for all of the employees' children and grandchildren.

I can't believe how big Lewie looks next to my mom!!

After visiting my mom, we went home, grabbed some pizza, and hurried out to trick-or-treat before the rain.  It was 70 degrees and windy, but after 25 minutes of going house-to-house, the sky opened up, and it poured.  We finished another 20 minutes with umbrellas.  At one point, the alarm from the firehouse went off.  We looked at each other as if to say, there isn't a tornado in the area, right?  Thankfully, it was just a rainy and gusty day, but the weather did put a damper on things.  There were a lot less families outside trick-or-treating as there had been in previous years...

Lewie with his best friend.  I have to admit that in this picture, Lewie looks a little scary.  

Lewie instructed me not to say "Happy Halloween," so instead, "Merry Christmas, Happy St. Patrick's Day, and Happy National Tooth Fairy Day."  (If you think I'm making up the last day, then feel free to visit this post, which says it's celebrated twice per year--once on Aug. 22nd and another on Feb. 28th!